Kenneth Bae

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Kenneth Bae describes years in North Korean labor camp

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Kenneth Bae describes years in North Korean labor camp05:26

Date of capture: Late 2012; in December 2012, US officials said Bae had been detained for over a month

Reason for detention: Bae, a tour company owner, was in North Korea for work. The regime arrested and charged him with "hostile acts" against the country and accused him of setting up bases in China for the purpose of "toppling" the North Korean government; encouraging North Korean citizens to bring down the government; and conducting a "malignant smear campaign."

State media also claimed Bae had planned to bring down North Korea through religious activities.

Otto Warmbier

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North Korea releases imprisoned US student

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North Korea releases imprisoned US student01:49

Date of capture: January 2, 2016

Reason for detention: Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was accused of committing a "hostile act" against the government. Later, the government released a video of Warmbier apologizing and confessing to "the crime of taking down a political slogan from the staff holding area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel." But it's not clear whether Warmbier was forced to speak.

Sentence: 15 years of hard labor, though he has been in a coma for the past year.

How he was freed: The diplomatic process began on June 6, when State Department Special Representative Joseph Yun met with North Korean UN Mission Ambassador Pak Kil-yon in New York and learned of Warmbier's deteriorating health condition, a senior State Department official said.

After that meeting, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson consulted with President Donald Trump and instructed Yun to prepare to travel to North Korea with the intent of bringing Warmbier back to the United States, the official told CNN.

Yun and a medical team were sent to North Korea on Monday to secure Warmbier's release, the official said, and Yun demanded Warmbier be released on humanitarian grounds.

Warmbier's return to the United States will be bittersweet. The 22-year-old contracted botulism and is in "bad shape," a source close to the family told CNN.

"Otto has left North Korea. He is on Medivac flight on his way home," his parents said in a statement Tuesday. "Sadly, he is in a coma and we have been told he has been in that condition since March of 2016. We learned of this only one week ago."

Three other Americans still detained

Despite efforts to get them released, three Americans are still detained by the North Korean regime.

-- Kim Dong Chul, a naturalized American who worked in international trade, was arrested in October 2015 on suspicion of espionage.